Care of Me
by malaga
Summary: Kaylee has a little too much to drink and needs to be looked after. Onesided Jayne/Kaylee, Onesided Kaylee/Simon


It's a dank, smoky little bar on some planet no ship worth a damn ever travels

It's a dank, smoky little bar on some planet no ship worth a damn ever travels. With one exception of course, because the little brunette sitting next to him would probably chuck a wrench at him if he even dared to think that Serenity might not be the most gorram shiny ship in the 'verse. Yeah, any ship she's a mechanic on must be worth a damn, 'cause that girl is fine.

Jayne asks her what she wants, and goes up and orders without a trace of shame, despite the fact that the men around him are openly snickering at his fetching and carrying for the itty bitty girlie. Let 'em laugh; he doesn't care.

He sets down the fruity glass in front of her. May not be real fruit, that stuff's expensive, but it tastes like real strawberries if her exclamations are right. He swipes a mouthful, laughing as she swats him. She's right, it tastes like strawberries.

He sits a head higher than any other man, if he were standing up, Kaylee could walk under his outstretched arm without brushing her head. He looks at her fondly as she starts to blink rapidly, finding it mildly amusing that he can tell exactly how drunk she is by her facial expression. She's started seeing double already, the strawberry concoction apparently hiding a killer kick. She finishes off the glass, and gives a high-pitched hiccup before slumping forward.

"C'mon girlie." Jayne lifts her up easily, cradling her light body in one arm as her grabs the bag of purchases. It weighs more than she does, overflowing with metal contraptions Jayne couldn't even guess at what to do with. She's clever like that, knowing how to keep her baby running smooth. Much more clever than the Doc, no matter what fancy Core accent and schooling he's got.

"Gi' us a go after yer finished?" A loud voice comes from the other side of the bar and Jayne freezes, glaring. "Dun't look like she'll mind!" Guffaws come from all directions, and Jayne keeps walking.

Gets a few lustful stares on the way back, and some outright bargains, as the whores enjoy the sight of Jayne's muscles standing out as he carries his mechanic back to Serenity.

His steps sound loud on the cobbled streets, but thieves seem to know that the fight for the girl and some nearly obsolete engine parts would end badly for them, and lie in wait for the next drunkard to come crawling out of the bars on this street.

Circles of light are formed by the occasional streetlamp, but for the most part, Jayne's way is lit only by the neon lights which advertise products which are probably illegal most places. Jayne's hulking figure seems to belong there, though the girl he holds with such care as she twitches slightly in her sleep, muttering a name or two, is incongruous. The metal he's carrying shouldn't be second-hand engine parts for an old firefly, it should be a blade or a gun, and his face should be stretched into a snarl, not the loving smile he gives as he glances down. Jayne could fit in on this street, if it weren't for her.

He walks slowly up the entrance ramp, knocking lightly on the Doc's door, making sure not to wake Kaylee. The younger man looks irritable at being called out, despite it still being before midnight, and he frowns as he opens the door to Jayne.

"What?" He snaps, slightly unnecessarily as the large man's burden speaks for itself.

"She'll need sommat for her hangover in the morning. Drank too fast." Despite his careless words, the way he tucks the girl into the perfectly folded white infirmary bed is anything but careless, his devotion clear in the way he makes sure she's perfectly comfortable before standing to leave.

"You're leaving again?" Simon's disdain is obvious, his disgust for the other man evident as he sneers up at him.

"Yup. Got me some business." Jayne leers, and despite having not seen all the whores calling out to him, Simon quickly gets his drift. He sneers slightly before turning to the girl who lies on the bed, her hair falling loose across the pillow and a slight smile on her face.

He gently wakes her, giving her the pills that will mean next morning brings only the usual lot of aches and pains that mornings bring, rather than the full brass band inside her head she could have expected. She grins and thanks him, gulping them down with water and laying back in bed, still drunk as a skunk.

"You been taking care of me Simon?" She yawns and smiles widely as he nods, squeezing his hand as she falls back to sleep, sweet as any child. He disentangles himself once she's asleep and kisses her forehead, before walking down the hallway to check on River. She's fine, but he sits there anyway, looking down at her, and smoothing away any bad dreams.

It's a dank, smoky little bar on some planet no ship worth a damn ever travels, and one man takes on the rest of the bar, knocking them all down before cracking his knuckles and turning to the last man standing. He whimpers slightly at the look on the big man's face.

"They're all finished. Believe you wanted a go?"

He swings out, enjoying the spray of blood and longing to pull out Vera or Binky, to create more blood and sweat and tears in this man. Instead, he has to be content with the satisfying squelch as his fist crushes the bone, easy as pie.

Once he's finished, he takes the long walk back to the ship with ease, all the ladies of the night having found customers elsewhere, and heads to the infirmary. Rather than bandage his bleeding knuckles, or put ointments on the bruises from a few lucky shots, he sits and watches Kaylee until it's almost time for her to wake up.

The doctor comes back from his night time vigil over his sister, and frowns down at a single drop of blood on the bed frame. He reaches for a towel and wipes it away, waking Kaylee in the process.

"Aw Simon, you been up all night?"

"Yes." He doesn't elaborate, pressing his hand to her forehead to check her temperature.

Her usual sunny smile grows, becoming effervescent, and she snuggles back under the blankets. "Thanks for taking care of me."

He doesn't answer, just brushes a kiss to her cheek, and leaves the pretty mechanic to her dreams.


End file.
